RESEARCH ALERT-Goldman Sachs restarts GM
DETROIT, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Goldman, Sachs & Co. said on
Monday that it restarted coverage on General Motors Corp. with
a market outperformer rating.
--Goldman Sachs analyst James Irwin in a report forecast
earnings for the world's largest automaker to rise to $9.00 per
share in 1999 and $9.25 per share in 2000 from $5.32 in 1998.
--Analysts surveyed by First Call expect GM earnings of
$8.79 per share in 1999 and $9.20 per share in 2000.
--Irwin said GM will benefit from cost reduction efforts,
the launch of the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra
pickups, and rising profits in Europe from the new Astra small
car and Zafira small van.
--Although GM should have an outstanding first half to
1999, auto sales across the industry will weaken in the second
half of the year, he said.
--In addition, Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Honda Motor
Co Ltd <7267.T> will put more pressure on U.S. automakers with
new capacity and GM's marketing incentives are likely to rise
as the automaker attempts to boost its market share, he said.
--"In the near term, we believe that GM will deliver strong
results...In the second half, however, we believe that GM's
performance will flatten out," Irwin wrote. |
